Three innovative ways to preserve old memories

A Facebook friend, Suzette Plekker, also knows how to breathe new life into precious heirlooms. In fact, she has started an unusual business doing just that. She makes shoes and handbags from old tapestries, which are combined with leather. She uses the focal point of a tapestry to make the shoe panels. The shoes become a showpiece on your feet. And so you can ensure modern glory for your granʼs petit point tapestry.

Another friend, Freda Westerink, went to Italy to learn how to do breathtakingly beautiful traditional mosaics. She will decorate a time-worn dresser with your granʼs and momʼs old china. She skillfully cuts the ceramics and creates a modern, valuable display piece.

Former magazine editor Eldaleen Hugoʼs hobby is in the same category. She also makes over old furniture with modern flair. She uses paint techniques that are in a class of their own, as well as unique, almost architectural designs and patterns and flamboyant colours. Your granʼs wonky old cabinet becomes a thing of beauty.

The necklaces that Freda de Lange makes from old silver will be a talking point in any company. She doesnʼt believe in letting old cutlery lie forgotten in a drawer. Her necklaces are works of art that have been displayed in an art gallery. Tinkling memories that you canʼt wear if youʼre an introvert!

They make me think about the silver spoon that Fredaʼs son had made into a ring to his life partner, Simone. I was filled with envy for years until I came across a man at a market in Port Edward who made similar rings. He turned my old Apostle spoon into a ring for me.

I recently saw how Willie folds old ties into roses and uses them to decorate gifts. A great way to preserve a memory of your dad! Lots of ties were made from silk and luxurious fabrics in the olden days. On Instagram I came across someone who made bowties for all the men in the family from a grandfatherʼs ties. One family made bowties for their son and his groomsmen for his wedding using his late fatherʼs ties. A lovely way to have the father represented at the wedding.

I visited the house of a young couple recently where heirlooms live on in an unusual way. They have had Steampunk lamps made from a grandfatherʼs collection of old cameras, projectors, binoculars and watches. In the same way that everyoneʼs taste differs, so the preservation of memories can be adapted. My chandelier and the Steampunk lamps are at opposite ends of the preference scale.

The upcycling videos and ideas on Pinterest and Instagram provide lots of inspiration for ways to give your momʼs vintage clothes a new lease of life. Especially for people with a penchant for the bohemian. Ceramicist Gretchen Crotz and her designer sister Inge are keen followers of the upcycling trend. A former colleague of mine is regularly in the spotlight with outfits with an upcycled character. Sheʼs always first in line when people want to get rid of their mother's or granʼs clothes.

I have often gone on about the lessons that I learnt when my friend Annie Lamprechtʼs house here on our farm burnt down. For a long time, she didnʼt want to be reminded of the traumatic blaze, but when she was emotionally ready, her husband Erich made a special artwork with items that had been salvaged from the ruins. Her motherʼs old needlework scissors that look like a bird, some of Erichʼs army medals, an old spectacle frame, a doorknob, metal button, scorched coins and shattered ceramics. All the pieces bear the scars of the tragic fire, but they have been artistically transformed into an heirloom that reminds family and friends that you can rise from the ashes and start over again.

An anonymous sage once said that if something or someone that you love becomes a memory, that memory will become a treasure.

Scorched metal from Annieʼs house, a green glass shard from oumaʼs sugar bowl, my bright, shiny chandelier. They are all treasures that tell stories when youʼre feeling nostalgic.

PHOTO FRAMES

RIGHT: Photocopy the family photo you want to frame in the desired size onto white cardboard. Itʼs best to work on a copy of the original as you don't want to damage something irreplaceable. To make the frame, place an embroidery hoop over the copied photo and use it as your guide to arrange crockery pieces with a rounded edge into a ring, inside the hoop. Use superglue to stick the shards as well as the embroidery hoop onto the photo. Once the glue is dry, either cut around the outside of the hoop to create a round frame or stick it with adhesive tape onto a thin wooden board the same size as the picture. Your framed photo is ready to hang in your favourite space.

PIECES OF THE HEART

Have you, like Carin, broken your granny's precious sugar bowl into too many pieces to glue together again? Rather than store them in a jar or hide them in a drawer, turn the broken bits of treasured china or glassware into jewellery. Most jewellers will happily turn a piece into a pendant by setting it in a casing, as Carin did with her green milkglass 'angel wing' . You can also use the kintsugi technique (see alongside) to join together small pieces in the shape of a heart. Carefully drill a small hole at the top of the heart with a diamond drill bit and hang on a chain.

KINTSUGI or golden joinery is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending it with lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum dust.